Havoc
by MaraudeR2D2
Summary: He's going to go on a journey through Hoenn with his friends Dawn, Max and Vern and his pokemon. He's going to beat the Pokemon League. He's going to show the world what he's made of. And nothing's going to stop him. Can Havoc prevail with Hoenn's climate slowly destabilizing? Can he and his friends stop a madman hellbent on destroying Hoenn? I don't own pokemon, just the OCs.
1. Chapter 1:IMPACT

**CHAPTER 1: IMPACT**

Birch hummed to himself contentedly as he made his way through Oldale. It was a fine day for a walk. In his satchel slung over his shoulder, he carried three pokeballs, containing each of the Hoenn starters. This was the last trio he had to collect for the next two months. He now had enough of them at his lab to hand them to new trainers as they began their journey as trainers. He greeted an old couple as hey walked by; he knew them from Littleroot. They greeted him back warmly as they continued on their way to the weekly farmers' market that was held at Oldale every Tuesday. Birch considered stopping for a coffee; one more cup couldn't hurt, it was his second that day. That's not bad, it's not like I'm having my ninth cup or something, he reasoned with himself. He could pickup something for his wife and his son as well. The big question: sandwiches or donuts? His mental debate was interrupted by a voice behind him, loaded with malice.

"Well, lookee here. If it ain't the Proff on his way home.", said one.

"That bag looks awfully heavy, Proff.", said another.

"Maybe we can do something to lighten the load?", added a third.

"So just hand over those balls, and you can be on your way.", concluded the fourth.

"You want...my balls?", asked an uneasy Birch, as he turned around slowly, taking in his stalkers. The four wore flashy outfits, sunglasses, and an excessive amount of bling, in typical hooligan fashion.

"When you put it like that, it does sound weird.", the second admitted.

"We want your pokeballs, you dunce!", shrieked the third."So make it snappy!"

"That's thievery! You can't just steal them, they're for the next generation of Hoenn trainers to raise! They need these pokemon!", Birch exclaimed, in a vain attempt to reason with them.

"Well, sucks to be them, doesn't it then?", the fourth, the leader, sneered, showing off his glinting gold teeth.

"Just hand 'em over and you won't have any trouble with us, Proff. What say you?", the first offered, in a tone suggesting no wasn't an answer Birch wanted to go with.

Birch was in a real pickle now. He didn't have any of his pokemon on him, his son was using them to train today. He himself wasn't a good battler as such.

Birch was considering making a run for it and hoping for the best, when a voice piped up.

"I say screw you. Those pokemon aren't going anywhere with the likes of you morons. Not on my watch."

The speaker was a boy, Birch could tell from his voice. He was tall and lanky, with messy brown hair. He wore a green-and-grey waterproof jacket, a dark grey T-shirt, beige trousers and blue running shoes. He had a blue backpack. His eyes were easily his most distinguishing feature, they were gold; not gold, but yellow. When he looked Birch in the eye, it felt like those eyes were piercing into him, reading him, thoughts intentions and more. It was unsettling. Very unsettling.

The hooligans shifted uneasily as each of them was sized up by the newcomer. The leader got over his unease and huffed,"Piss off, punk. I don't have time for worthless turds like you."

"No."

"Whatcha mean 'No', you little shit? Does it look like we're giving you a choice?"

"I don't really care if you are. I'll give you a choice: leave now and you get to keep your teeth."

"What, you're gonna hit me? You gonna punch the big bad pokemon thief? You ain't got the power to knock my teeth out with those bony hands!", the leader jeered. His cronies joined in, throwing insults and laughing. They stopped laughing when they saw that the boy was grinning too. The leader's eyes narrowed at the grinning boy. People had stopped to watch the ordeal. A few people were recording the whole thing as it played out on their phones.

"What's so funny, maggot?"

"Who said it would be me who'd get rid of your teeth?", the boy replied, smiling widely. He snapped his fingers.

Out of nowhere, a blur came and struck the leader in the jaw. As soon as it had come, the blur was gone. The leader's bloody gold teeth lay strewn across the paved stones, which were now spattered with blood. The leader groaned, eyes wide in shock and pain. His jaw hurt terribly, and his gums felt like they were on fire. Two of his goons helped him up.

"What was that?", Birch exclaimed.

"My partner.", replied the boy.

The leader got to his feet and pointed at the boy, and mumbled,"ya gunna guh dow, bai!"

His men took the cue and with hime, they each released two pokemon. The boy and his unknown pokemon were facing eight opponents. The hooligans' lineup included a Linoone, a Mightyena, two Poochyena, two Zubat, a Dustox and a Lombre.

"Proffessor", the boy began, "I'm going to need those pokemon. Right. Now,"

Birch didn't hesitate, this boy was the only thing standing between the starters and the thieves. He threw the boy the pokeballs, and the boy caught them clumsily.

The Hoenn starters come out.

"Torchic! Mudkip! Treecko! I need your help in putting an end to these pokemon thieves! Lend me your power!", the boy called.

Birch was surprised at how quickly the starters responded. The three turned to the boy, met his eyes and gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

How did he bond with them so quickly, Birch wondered, impressed and intrigued at the same time. He realized it was the tone with which the boy had addressed them, it was a tone of respect. He had spoken to the pokemon as if speaking to equals. Perhaps that was what had caused them to trust in and side with him so quickly, Birch mused to himself.

"Four against eight, maggot! You ain't gonna win!", one of the hooligans called out.

"How about you call another eight, then you can say that you tried?", the boy retorted.

"Grrr.."

With that, the battle began in earnest.

The boy snapped his fingers and the blur came once again, barrelling in at fantastic speeds towards the foes. In one hit, the Dustox was out cold. Another snap of the fingers, and the blur made another pass, trashing the two Poochyena in two successive collisions. The boy then proceeded to engage in battle with the starters at his side. He directed Torchic to take out Lombre with Peck, simultaneously guiding Treecko to defeat Linoone with several uses of Absorb and Mudkip to wreck Mightyena by dousing him with water gun. The two Zubat left didn't have a chance. The starters rained hell upon the two Zubat with Treecko using tail whip to bring down the opponents' defence while Mudkip used Tackle on one, with Torchic pecking the other. In the span of a few minutes, the thieves' pokemon had been totalled. They just stood there for a few moments, gaping in shock at their unconscious pokemon. They returned their pokemon and hightailed it out of there. The boy paid them no heed. He was busy commending the starters on what a great job they had done and how well they had worked together.

As Birch watched the thieves run off, he turned to the boy and the starters crowded around him, chirping away happily. The crowd broke into applause. They were all impressed with the boy and the pokemon. As the crowd began to disperse, Birch walked upto the boy.

"That was some serious skill you showed there, youngster."

"Thanks! It wasn't just me though. These guys did all the real work." That got him a group hug from the starters. As the boy got up once again, another pokemon descended upon the group. It was a Beldum. He went upto the boy and nuzzled him.

"Yes, Beldum, you were awesome out there.", the boy told Beldum, grinning.

"So it was Beldum who came and struck the leader and those other pokemon when you snapped your fingers?", Birch inquired, fascinated with the boy.

"Yeah. Beldum here is my oldest friend and partner."

"He is a powerful pokemon."

"Oh, he is. We've trained like crazy. Plus, I went to a tutor to teach Beldum the moves Metal Head and Zen Headbutt, to give him some moves that would power up his attacks thanks to STAB( **SAME TYPE ATTACK BONUS** ).", the boy explained.

"You're an intelligent boy-er, I never did ask your name. What's your name?"

"They call me Havoc."

"Come on guys, back into your balls now. We've got to get going.", Birch called as he made his way over from the cafe where he'd been dozing for a while. The starters had struck up a quick friendship with Havoc. They'd been training with him and Beldum for two hours now, while Birch had gone to the tea shop, where he had dozed off. The starters just stood there, glaring at Birch like he had just said that people who used Jigglypuff as pillows had the right idea.

It took him a while to figure out why they were glaring at him like that. He finally got it.

"I get it! You guys want something to eat before we leave!"

The starters groaned collectively, and shared looks that said, "Seriously, is this guy for real? Can't he take a hint?"

Treecko walked upto him, looked him in the eye and grabbed his satchel and ran back to where Havoc stood with Beldum; the two had been watching this exchange quietly. Torchic and Mudkip joined him.

Birch finally took the hint.

"I get it now! You'd like to join Havoc and have him as your trainer! Did I get it right?"

The starters nodded vigorously.

"But all of you?"

The starters nodded vigorously.

"I can't do that."

The starters gave him a dangerous look as if to say, _you sure about that?_

Birch deliberated for a while. Havoc had showed him and proved himself to be a capable and caring trainer. It was unprecedented, for sure, but then again, there's a first time for everything. His mind made up, he walked upto Havoc and asked him a question he asked every trainer who came to him.

"What are pokemon to you?"

Without hesitating, Havoc answered, "They are a part of me. They are everything to me."

"I see."

This was a trainer worthy of all three starters, all right. His words and actions told him he cared for pokemon more than anything. He would take good care of these pokemon. He was adept at battling too; he had known immediately what moves the starters knew, without a pokedex.

"All right, then. I entrust these starters to you. Do you accept?"

"Hell yeah, I do!"

The starters surged towards their new trainer, tackling him in a group hug.s

Birch couldn't help but smile.

"I would also lie to give you a Pokedex. With it, you can sign up for the Hoenn Pokemon League. So come along with me to Littleroot to my lab, won't you?"

"Really? You'd give me a Pokedex? Wow! I've always wanted to go on a journey!"

"Let's go, then!"

Havoc returned his newfound pokemon to their balls along with Beldum, and followed Birch.

As they walked to Littleroot through the forest path, Birch asked Havoc, "Will your parents be all right with you going off on a journey through Hoenn?"

"I wouldn't know how they would feel about it. They abandoned me near Oldale when I was little. I was in an orphanage there for a while, but left when I was eleven. I've been living at a shelter since then, earning money through various odd jobs.", Havoc replied with a sad smile.

Birch was quiet for a while. A while later, he asked, "How did you meet Beldum?"

"Beldum and Metang migrate every few years. Beldum had been part of one such migration when he was caught in a storm and struck by lightning. He crashed in a dumpster as I was walking nearby. I found him and helped him recover and get his strength back. I trained him as well. When the owner of the orphanage found out I had a pokemon as rare as Beldum, he tried to take it away to sell it for money. That is why I left the orphanage. I ran away from there."

"You've had a difficult life."

"Not as difficult as some."

"Do you have a dream?"

"Yes."

"Would you like to share it with me?"

"Okay. I want to see the world. I'd like to meet pokemon from other regions. I'd like to battle with my partners with different people and learn from the battles to become a better battler. That is my dream."

"Well then, the Pokemon League is just for you! Why didn't you sign up for it?"

"I don't have a lot of money. I won't be able to afford it"

"But you don't have to worry about that, my boy! Pokedex holders don't have to pay for travelling or lodging expenses. The League covers the fares!"

"I did not now that."

"Well, you do now! So let's get you geared up for the journey of a lifetime! What say you?"

"Whoop, whoop!"

"Whoop, whoop!"

The Professor and the Trainer walked on, laughing.

Inside their pokeballs, the pokemon shook their heads at their antics.


	2. Chapter 2:PAPARAZZI

**CHAPTER 2:PAPARAZZI**

"I'm home! I brought a guest with me!", Birch called as he unlocked the front door and entered.

"Welcome back, honey.", his wife greeted him warmly.

"Hey, pops! How'd it go with the pickup? Can I meet the starters?", a boy the same age as Havoc asked as he descended the stairs.

"Well, kiddo, that depends. You'll have to ask Havoc here. He's their new trainer."

"All three of them?!", his son asked, incredulous.

"Yep, all three of them. Havoc here is an excellent trainer, from what I saw. I was about to be robbed by some pokemon thieves when he showed up and got me out of that jam."

Birch told the whole story to his family.

After hearing the tale, the boy turned to Havoc.

"If that's the case, thank you for helping my dad out. Arceus knows he needed it."

He offered a handshake, adding, "My name's Brendan. Professor Birch is my dad. Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise."

Proffesor Birch's wife spoke up,"Come in already! Lunch is ready and its getting cold."

The meal was sumptious. Freshly made tortillas, served with lemonade was as close you could get to heaven on earth, Havoc thought to himself as he dug in.

"Havoc, I'm going to go program your dex and fill out the details, so I need to know if I should classify you as multi-region or single-region. Do you plan to visit other regions as well or will you operate within Hoenn itself?"

"I hope to travel beyond Hoenn, so please, sign me up for the Multi-region Pass."

"Great! Do you have a plan for how you're going to do this?"

"Not entirely. I intend to take the League Challenge, so I'll be going through the cities with Gyms; that'll take me all over Hoenn. I've figured out how I'm going to play this out, though. I'll head to Rustboro, then Dewford, Slateport, Mauville, and so on till I get to Ever Grande."

"I see. You'll be taking the standard Hoenn Gym Route then."

"Yep. I plan to train for a bit first, though. I need to get used to and know my new Pokemon better.", Havoc said, fondly patting his pokeball belt.

"Why not stay with us for a bit, then? We have an extra room. Brendan here intends to take the League challenge as well, you know. You could help each other develop your skills further.", Birch offered.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, husband.", his wife agreed.

"I think it'll be a great chance for me to improve my abilities!", Brendan added.

"I won't be imposing on you, then?", Havoc wondered uncertainly.

"No! We'd be glad to have you with us!"

"It's settled then, I'll be staying with you guys for a while, then!"

 _A week_ _later_

Havoc had settled in comfortably at Littleroot. He slept in the guest room, ate dinner with Birch and his family. The Professor's wife was a great host. He had made a routine for himself. He'd get up early every morning at five, freshen up, and train till breakfast. Brendon usually joined him. After breakfast, he'd get back to training. After lunch, when it was too hot outside, Havoc would join the professor in the living room, where he worked. As Birch worked on his research, Havoc would generally read the paper or one of the books from the Professor's collection. He would bounce off ideas and questions pertaining to pokemon and their moves and abilities, which Birch was more than happy to answer. Havoc's ideas and doubts were refreshing and insightful, and sometimes helped make connections or raise new questions in his research. Birch's wife and Brendan would join them sometimes too. Evenings meant more training till night fell. After dinner, Havoc would sit with his pokemon in a circle in the guest room. They didn't talk much during this time. They just sat their, enjoying each other's company. It felt nice just to know that they were there, together, and that they were going to set out on a journey soon; new people, new pokemon, intense battles against powerful opponents! The possibilities were endless!. Sometimes they'd play games like Ludo or Arboks and Ladders, to let off steam. It was a good routine; but both him and his pokemon were beginning to get more and restless. Havoc took this as a good sign. The more restless they got, the more it meant they were ready to set out. It was clear that the time to leave was fast approaching.

"Hey, Havoc! You seen this yet?", Brendan called as he came to where Havoc was finishing up his pre-breakfast training. Breakfast was good. Breakfast was better with good company. Breakfast was the best after a hard morning of training.

"Seen what?", a distracted Havoc inquired. He was watching Treecko fight Torchic while Beldum and Mudkip cheered on the sidelines. He was teaching his pokemon how to put up with type disadvantages today. His pokemon were maturing and growing more powerful at an alarming rate. The intense training regimen was really paying off. They were nearing evolution. Havoc was sure of it. He was able to beat Brendan consistently. Even when it was Brendan and his dad against Havoc, he generally prevailed over them.

Brendan came to him with a tablet. The web browser window showed a video with the caption 'LONE TRAINER TOTALS POKEMON THIEVES'. Havoc recognized himself in the video. It was a video of his confrontation with the hooligans and their leader!

"It's the second most watched video on the threads right now, and the most talked about thing in the media!", Brendan informed him, laughing. "I've heard dad tell me what happened so many times, but wow! This is so cool! You're a badass!"

"I guess?"

"You guess, my foot! You're a badass through and through!"

Brendan's praise made Havoc uncomfortable. He wasn't used to compliments.

"Thanks, Brendan.", he managed.

"Mom's saying we need to come inside for brekkie now. Race you?"

"You're on."

The two boys ran off towards the house's porch, with the pokemon in hot pursuit.

"Havoc, you hear about the video of you and those hooligans being all over the news and social media?", Birch asked, as he dug into his pancakes, which he washed down with freshly squeezed orange juice.

"Yep. Brendan told me about it."

"Don't be too surprised if a news crew pulls up here to interview and such."

"Why would they? It's not such a big thing to help people out if they're in trouble, is it? "

"Well, for _starters_ -", Birch looked at the two of them, grinning expectantly.

Brendan just shook his head.

"Four out of ten, professor.", Havoc commented. "You were saying?"

Slightly crestfallen, Birch pressed on, "Pokemon theft and illegal sale has always been a strongly spoken against issue. Your stopping them is seen as an effort to end pokemon theft and sale. That's why it's kind of a big deal."

"Plus, not a whole lotta exciting things like botching a pokemon robbery go down around here, especially not at this end of the region.", Brendan added."So the media getting riled up isn't really that big of a surprise."

"I'm not very good with Q and A's or at socailizing.", Havoc admitted.

"That's all right. You can simply say 'no comment' and get it over with. Although, it isn't entirely a bad idea to give an interview, you know. It can help build connections and a good image which can prove to be very helpful."

"Maybe I'll give this interview thing a whirl. What should I say?"

Birch was about to go into a long and overly descriptive rant discussion about body language, vocabulary, wit and whatnot when his wife, who had figured this might happen, cut in before Birch could start, "Just be honest, kiddo. That's all. Isn't that right, honey?"

She gave her husband pointed look.

"I agree. Totally!", Birch agreed hastily.

"You'll be fine, Havoc. You won against eight pokemon with four! If you can pull that off, an interview should be a cakewalk for you!", Brendan quipped.

"Mmm."

As if on cue, a news van pulled up in front of the porch where Havoc and Co were having their breakfast. As the dust cleared, a woman, a cameraman and a mic operator stood before them.

"Good morning, Havoc!", the reporter began cheerfully, flashing her even, white teeth.

"I'm Gabby! I'm here from _Hoenn Now_ , and we would like to ask you a few questions about you and your pokemon!"

"All right.", an uncertain Havoc replied.

"Fantastic! Ty, get rolling! Mick, that mic better not be visible on-screen!"

"3, 2, 1...we're live!"

"Good morning, Hoenn! I'm Gabby , and I'm here today at the household of the renowned Pokemon Professor Birch, where the young trainer Havoc currently resides. Havoc, as many of you may know, is the trainer, who just a few days ago, helped the Professor out by fighting off some thieves looking to get their hands on some starters! He has agreed to an exclusive interview with us."

Havoc nodded at the camera, a nervous smile upon his face. It did not help that a small crowd was watching him as his interview was being conducted.

"All right, let us begin!", Gabby exclaimed.

"You have a peculiar name."

"So do you."

"Not the point. What's the origin story behind your name?"

"I was a pain in the neck to put up with in the nursery of the orphanage. Apparently, I used to rile up the other children. The floor watchman gave me that name. I liked it. I kept it."  
"How old are you?"

"14. Ish."

"That's pretty late to start a journey. In Hoenn, a trainer sets out at age 10! Why did you not start earlier?"

"I was homeless, more or less penniless and had no parents. I had no one to vouch for me or guide me, growing up. An opportunity for me to undertake a journey of my own arose recently, when Professor Birch kindly offered to procure a pokedex for me and sign me up for the League, after the run-in with the thieves."

"What happened to your parents?"

"They left me at an orphanage near Oldale."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Why are you not at the orphanage anymore?"

"No comment."

"Okaaay. Your brawl with the thieves tell us you are a pretty powerful and knowledgable trainer."

"I'm all right, I guess."

"What's the secret to your prowess?"

"You flatter me. I'm just your garden variety trainer."

"Any tips for trainers out there?"

"I'm not even a trainer in full yet. What tips could I possibly give?"

"What are your hobbies and interests?"

"I love the world of pokemon and pokemon battles. As for hobbies, I like to read, so I go to the public library and read a lot of the time. I also enjoy music, so I play the piano, or my flute. I watch all the league Battles on a TV or listen to them on the radio."

"Do you have any favourite battlers?"

"Of course. Non-League wise, I'm a fan of Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and Tyson from Mauville. Did you see how Ash dealt with Gary Oak's Blastoise at the Silver Conference while having a tired Charizard? Freaking brilliant! League-wise, I think my favourites are Steven, Alder, Koga and Flint."

"Interesting choices."

"Trainer's got to have role models."

Havoc wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. Had he said anything wrong so far? This interviewing business wasn't really his thing.

"You seem to be uneasy, Havoc. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thanks. It's just that I'm not all that comfortable in front of a camera."

"You need something to take your mind of things, don't you? And I know just what it is that you need!"  
"Really?"

"Oh, yes. Havoc, I challenge you to a battle!"

Havoc's demeanour changed completely. His fidgeting stopped, his eyes that had been darting about nervously stopped darting and became clear and focussed. The nervous-smile-that-was-beginning-to-resemble-a-grimace-with-each-second was replaced by a grin. His hunched shoulders relaxed and he stood taller, to his full height.

"Bring it!"

"I certainly intend to!", Gabby replied as she threw a pokeball with her first pokemon. Out came a snarling Loudred.

Gabby paused. "Aren't you going to bring yours out?", she asked, puzzled.

Havoc's grin widened.

"Oh, he's out, allright."

He snapped his fingers. "Night night."

Beldum came hurling out of nowhere and got Loudred smack in the face with Iron Head. Loudred crumpled, out cold.

"Damn it!", Gabby shrieked. Her head was in the game now. A noob ten years younger to her had just knocked out one of her pokemon in one hit, on live TV!

"Magneton, time to rock the boat!"

Magneton entered the field, but Beldum was nowhere to be found.

"Beldum, return! You were great. Let someone else join in the fray now! Torchic, let's do this!"

Torchic came out of her pokeball, growling defiantly.

"Mirror Shot!", Gabby ordered.

"Double Kick the ground."

Without hesitating, Torchic obliged, chirping, _on it, boss_.

The kick shot Torchic off the ground. While she was in the air, Havoc shouted, "Now! Ember! As hot as you can make it!"

Torchic obliged, giving the Ember everything she had.

Magneton was _cooked_ by the attack. It fainted, and lay there, smoking.

Gabby was knocked to the ground by the force of the attack. She sat there, staring at her defeated partner.

 _Who the heck is this guy? His pokemon didn't even take any damage!_

Havoc walked over to her, Torchic in his arms(he had run forward to catch her as she made the landing apprach). He offered her a hand, and said, "Good battle. You were right, it's just what I needed."

Gabby took the hand and was helped up.

Looking at him blankly, she asked,"How?"

Havoc understood what she meant.

"Trust, understanding, training. That's all there is to it.", he replied.

"I see."

"I'm glad you do."

She regained her composure, and turned back tot he camera, wearing the smile she did for the camera.

"There you have it folks! You don't have to interview this guy to get to know him! A battle's all you'll need! Gabby out!"

"Holy shit, Havoc! What was that? You trashed a Magneton with _Ember_? _And at the same time, you scored with Gabby from_ Hoenn Now ?! What, what?", Brendan cried as he followed Havoc back inside after the reporter had left. Gabby had left her phone number with him.

"Language!", Brendan's mom called from the kitchen.

"Sorry, mom!", Brendan called back.

"I did not _score_ with Gabby, idiot. She gave me her number if I ever felt like giving another interview.", an amused Havoc explained.

"Oh, so you do want some more with one-on-one with her, don't you, playa?"

"Oh, shut up."

"Well Havoc, that went pretty well. You handled yourself very well out there today.", Birch said as he looked up from his work, a thesis on the territorial behaviour of pokemon.

"Thanks, Professor."

"You're going to train now, I presume?"

Havoc usually followed his routine to the T. Just not today, though. Havoc shifted on his feet for a bit, and then replied, "I've decided it's about time I got going. I feel like I'm ready to set out. Battling with Gabby made me realise that I'm capable enough to venture out now."

"Darn it..", a crestfallen Brendan, moaned. Then he brightened up, back to his usual self.

"Don't think you're rid of me just yet, Havoc! I'm going to train harder than ever! I'm gonna get as good as you, and then some! I'll catch up with you, just you watch! Then we'll travel together, bringing Elite Four and Champions to their left, right and centre!"

"You've got yourself a deal, Bread On."

"It's Brendan, and you know it! Also, I find it disturbing that that's all you could come up with for my name, _Hammock_. Boom!"

"Yeah, yeah. We'll see."

"Well, it's about time you got going. You're going to shake things up in the world of pokemon. I know it.", Birch said, offering him the pokedex he had kept at the ready for when Havoc would finally set out. He also handed him a leather case with the dex.

"Something I think you'll find useful out there in the field. A small token of my appreciation and gratitude."

"Professor, I don't know what to say-"

"Then don't say anything.", Birch's wife walked into the room, holding out his backpack in one hand, while she held his green and grey jacket, freshly laundered and druy-cleaned in another.. She had packed everything he'd need on his journey.

"This isn't goodbye forever. We'll see each other again. We'll be rooting for you and Bread On here."

"Mom, not you too! _Noooooooooooooooooo!_ ", a stricken Brendan wailed, falling to the floor clutching his heart and swooning.

They all shared a laugh at that.


	3. Chapter 3:GOLD AND SILVER

**CHAPTER 3: GOLD AND SILVER**

"Ahhh! The sweet feeling of progress!", Havoc muttered to himself happily.

His pokemon, who'd been walking by him the whole time looked at him incredulously.

 _What progress? We're still at zero gym badges._

Havoc saw the looks he was getting and justified his statement.

"We've set out, haven't we? We're on our way to our first badge in Rustboro."

It had been two days since Havoc had left Littleroot. He'd stopped at Oldale for a day to register for the league. Mudkip had developed an annoying habit of pressing the ID button of the dex with its fin. He'd heard "This pokedex belongs to Havoc from Oldale Town." way too many times. At one point, Havoc had begun to mutter "this pokedex belongs to Havoc from Oldale Town" in a sing-song voice under his breath, untill Beldum had snapped him out of it with a zen headbutt. After that episode, he'd hid his pokedex inside his jacket inner pocket, to keep Mudkip's eager fin from getting to that button ever again.

His pokemon continued to shake their heads as they arrived the entry gate for Petalburg.

They made their way to the pokemon centre. Inside, they were greeted by a Nurse Joy who asked if he'd like to heal his team up. He politely declined, stating that they weren't injured and just needed some feeding. Havoc went out to the courtyard, where he laid out bowls, and filled out the bowls with appropriate feed. His partners surged forward, ravenous after the long walk from Oldale. They had fought a few battles on their ways as well, but nothing they couldn't handle. Once they were done eating, Havoc returned them to their pokeballs. He went back inside, to the mess hall. He didn't have to pay; his dex doubled as a meal pass. As he got a tray and piled his plate, he looked around for a place to sit. Most of the tables were full. His eyes fell upon a table in the corner, there was just one person sitting there. Good enough.

He made his way over there and put his tray down. The other trainer had been picking at his food, staring off into the distance. He had a medium build, and spiky, silver hair. His eyes matched his hair. The other trainer looked up, and a flicker of recognition showed in his eyes.

"You're that trainer from the Oldale ordeal, aren't you?", he asked.

"Yes, I am. The name is Havoc. Keep it down, though, won't you?"

"Y-yeah. Sure I'm Vern. From Ever Grande.."

That piqued his interest.

"Really? From Ever Grande?"

"Born and raised."

"Did you go to a lot of matches, then?"

"My dad-he works for the League. Free tickets to all matches for me."

"Wow. It must be exciting and fun to watch so many battles!"

"I guess. I'm not really into battles."

"No?"

"I mean, I like battles as much as the next guy; but what I really enjoy are contests."

"Cool! So you're going to try for the Grand Festival?"

"I'd like to, yes."

"Good luck!"

Vern smiled. "Thanks. So what's your forte?"

"I love battling! I'm working towards conquering the League!"

"Good luck with that."

"Thanks!"

They completed the rest of their meal in silence. Havoc was about to get upto to return his tray, when Vern spoke up.

"Wanna battle?"

Havoc flashed his wide grin.

"Bring it!"

The two boys raced off to the courtyard.

"Two pokemon each?", Vern asked. "I've only got two."

"Done."

Vern sent out a Bagon.

"Nice! Found it at Meteor Falls?", Havoc commented admiringly.

"Took me two whole days of diligent searching till I stumbled across this guy.", Vern replied with a smile. "My dad told me that it was good to have a pseudo-legendary in my team, as they tend to be real gamechangers."

His smile faltered a little when he mentioned his dad. He quickly recomposed himself. "Enough stalling. Let's do this!"

Havoc sent out his Treecko. He had taught Treecko a move recently that he was trying to prefect.

The gekko calmly looked at his opponent, who was getting ready to charge.

"Double edge!", Vern cried.

"Trip him when he's charging!", Havoc ordered.

Treecko ran forward, on a collision course with the charging Bagon, dove at the pseudo's feet, and tripped him with his tale. Bagon went sprawling. He began to get back up, seemingly unfazed.

 _Rock head. That's why Bagon's not taking damage from collisions or heavy recoil from a move as draining as Double Edge!_ , Havoc realized.

"Treecko, do it! While Bagon's getting up. Use the new move I taught you!"

Treecko leapt into the air and began to hurl with blazing speed towards Bagon. He struck Bagon twice, in quick succession. Bagon fell, out cold.

"Yowzah!", Havoc yelled in jubiliation. "That was perfect! We finally got it!"

Treecko shared a smile with his trainer, satisfied.

"What the heck was that?", Vern exclaimed, returning his beaten Bagon to his pokeball.

"Acrobatics. A move that hits with double the power if the user is not holding an item. Treecko had not item on him. So his hits were packing double the power."

Professor Birch had let him use the TM for acrobatics from his lab. It had come in handy.

"Nice tactics."

"I try."

Next, Vern sent out Combusken. Without waiting, Vern cried, "Ember!"

"Treecko, return! Mudkip, let's finish this!"

The Ember attack passed harmlessly as Treecko returned to his pokeball.

Out came Mudkip.

"Water gun at the ground!"

Mudkip obeyed, hosing the battlefield.

 _What's he upto, now? Why not just use Mudkip's water gun on Combusken and exploit the type advantage?_ , Vern wondered to himself. He found out moments later, when he ordered for a Double Kick from Combusken.

Combusken, slipped and fell. He was stuck in the thick mud! He couldn't kick, or move properly!

"Water gun. Aim for Combusken."

Mudkip took aim, carefully, and let it rip. Combusken got completely doused. Another water gun and Combusken had been successfully subdued.

Vern just watched, mouth agape. Rather than risk a miss with the water gun, Havoc had used the environment to keep Combusken in place for an assured hit, while simultaneously disabling Combusken's greatest asset: his powerful kicks. This guy was something else.

"That...was amazing!", Vern commended Havoc.

"You're pretty good too. Your pokemon are in good shape, and you know how to use them well."

"Thanks!"

The two then trained together for a while. Vern was especially impressed with Beldum and his speeding bullet technique.

As their training session came to an end, Havoc spoke up.

"Vern, would you like to come along as I journey through Hoenn? Are paths are more or less the same."

Vern thought about it. Havoc was pretty cool, and he didn't really want to travel alone. He could do with a friend who'd watch his back. He made up his mind.

"I'd love to!"

"Great! Where are you staying tonight? The Centre's out of rooms to spare"

Vern's face drooped at that. "I'll have to come up with something. Maybe I'll set up my sleeping bag somewhere inside?"

"I've got a letter form the Professor for the Gym Leader of this city, imploring him to shelter us for a bit before we press on to Rustboro. Someone called Norman. If he's got a spare room, you can bunk with me?"

"That would be nice.", a grateful Vern replied. "I'll take you up on that offer."

"Then let's go!"

"Righto!"

The two friends went off further into the city, relying on directions the Nurse Joy had given them to the Petalburg Gym, where Norman lived.

A few wrong turns and after being aided by a friendly waiter at a roadside cafe, the duo finally arrived at the Gym.

They knocked at the door of the Gym.

A cry of "I'll get it!" was heard. A bespectacled boy five or so years younger to Havoc opened it.

"What's up?"

Havoc spoke up. "Hey there. We'd like to meet Leader Norman, if he's in."

"He's not taking challengers right now. He's in the middle of dinner right now.", the boy replied, sizing up the duo.

"As much as I'd love to challenge him, that's not what we're here for. I've got a letter from Professor Birch for him."

"Oh. I'll get him. Wait here."

The boy dashed off. Some muffled voices could be heard.

The boy came back, with Norman in tow.

"What is it?"

Havoc handed the letter to Norman. Norman tore it open and read it. His eyes narrowed.

Looking up, he addressed Havoc,"You're the trainer who was on TV for fighting off some thieves trying to rob Birch, aren't you?"  
"Yes, I am."

"Who's this with you?"

"This is Vern. He and I are travelling together. There was no room at the PC, so he came along. If you have extra space, we'll share."

"There was nothing in the letter about the plus one."

"The plus one has a name.", Vern muttered.

Norman ignored him.

"You'll have to pay if you want to stay here."

"You want money?", Havoc asked. "Doesn't being a Gym Leader pay well?"

"I don't want money. You can 'pay' me with a battle. I could do with a show while I have dinner with my family."

"Who'll we be up against?"

"Two of my pupils. You beat them, you can stay here for a while."

"Deal."

Havoc never backed down from a fight. Vern wasn't one to say no to a battle either.

"Come in, then. You'll be fighting in the yard out back."

They followed him inside. The bespectacled boy closed the door behind him.

Five minutes later, Havoc and Vern stood on one side of the yard, while on the other side stood two pupils from Norman's gym; a boy and a girl.

"You can walk away. There's no shame in surrendering.", the girl called.

"The same goes for you.", Vern retorted. He was still miffed about Norman not addressing him by his name.

"We will not be liable for any grievous injuries to your pokemon!", the boy added.

Havoc snorted. "Likewise."

Among the spectators was the bespectacled boy, an older woman who was probably Norman's wife and two girls:one a brunette, the other blue-haired. Norman sat at the head of the table. Another one of his pupils was refereeing.

"This is a double battle, with each trainer using one pokemon! The battle will end when one side has lost both its pokemon. Begin!"

The pupils both sent out a Vigoroth.

Vern sent out Combusken, while Havoc just stood there.

"Trainer Havoc! Send out your pokemon!", the referee pupil prompted.

"He's out already."

"Where-", the bespectacled kid began to pipe up, when Havoc snapped his fingers.

Beldum struck, striking one Vigoroth in the side of his face and the other in the abdomen. Both staggered.

"Just like in that video.", Norman's wife murmured.

"Double Kick!", Vern shouted while the pupils just stared at their doubled over pokemon in surprise. Combusken struck the Vigoroth on the left with two furious kicks, knocking her out. By this time, the other Viogroth was on his feet. Swiftly, it stepped forward and lifted Combusken, throwing it into a fence. Combusken was stuck in a newly made hole in the wooden fence.

Havoc went to Combusken's aid before Vigoroth could knock him out.

"Beldum, go for another pass!"

"Oh on, you don't!", the girl shouted. "Vigoroth, sidestep and knock that tin can aside!"

Vigoroth dodged the oncoming Metal Head attack and backhanded Beldum into a bush.

 _She's pretty good. We'll have to do something soon or we might just end up on the losing end._ Havoc realized. Combusken was disabled, trying to get out of the fence he was trapped in. Beldum floated up and came up in front of Havoc, awaiting new orders. He addressed his oldest pokemon, "Beldum. It's time. Get ready."

Beldum tensed at what had just been said. Then, he readied himself. _It's about damn time. I was getting tired of waiting!_ , Beldum thought to himself.

"That all you got?", the girl taunted.

"I'm just getting started, missy.", Havoc announced. "Beldum, wait for my signal! Zen Headbutt!"

Beldum shot towards the remaining Viogoroth.

"Vigoroth! Mega Punch this loser back to Littleroot!", the girl shrieked.

Vigoroth dashed forward, fist ready to deliver.

The two pokemon barrelled towards each other.

The spectators held their breadth, dinner forgotten.

As the two were moments from colliding, Havoc yelled, "Beldum, now!"

There was a bright flash, blinding everyone, but Havoc, who had covered his eyes.

Then everything was still.

When the dust cleared, there lay Vigoroth, beaten and bruised. Floating over him, was a newly evolved Metang.

As the two were about to collide, Beldum had evolved into Metang and used the newly learned Psychic to hold Vigoroth in place, and gave the finishing blow with Zen Headbutt.

Havoc smiled at his victory. Vern whooped as he returned Combusken to his pokeball, and turned to Norman, and said, "How's that for a show?"

Norman snapped out of staring at the fainted Vigoroth.

"It'll do.", he managed.

As the boys dug in to the spread before them, Max peppered them with questions.

"How did you know Beldum was going to evolve?"

"He'd been showing the signs for a while now. But I asked him to keep it suppressed for a bit longer so that he could learn Psychic on evolving. We would otherwise have had to wait longer to learn Psychic if Beldum had evolved earlier. He was ready. So I told him to go for it. He did."

"Wow."

Max looked at the two boys' team, who were eating dinner nearby. The others had accepted Metang without a hitch. That was a good sign that the pokemon were on good terms with each other. Vern's team and Havoc's had become fast friends.

"Max let them eat. They must be tired.", admonished Norman's wife. Once Max had settled down, Norman spoke up. "Introductions are in order. This is my wife, Caroline. The girl with the brown hair is my daughter May. She's here taking a break from her travels in Johto, where she is taking parts in contests. The boy who opened the door is Max, my son. He is nine years old. This is May's friend, Dawn.", he said, gesturing towards the blue-haired girl.

"She'll be travelling through Hoenn, taking part in contests held across the region."

Havoc turned to Dawn. "Vern here is also taking part in contests. He's going to be a great coordinator one day!"

"Really?", Dawn asked, amused at Vern's embarrassed expression.

"That's right. I intend to collect five ribbons and take part in the Grand Festival."

"I guess that makes us rivals?"

"I suppose?"

"Is that a question or an answer?"

"Why can't it be both?"

"It can, I guess."

"Have you guys figured where you're headed next?", cut in May.

"We'll collect the supplies we need and press on towards the Petalburg Woods. Then we'll head to Rustboro. There's a badge waiting for me over there."

"Hoping to win the League, huh?"

"Yep."

"Havoc, why not challenge this gym first?", Max asked.

"I've watched Leader Norman's battles several times. I'm not ready to fight someone of his calibre just yet. I'll come back here after I've overcome Lavaridge's Flannery."

"Smart."

"Mm."

As the evening progressed, the boys fit in naturally with the others. Vern was deep in conversation with May and Dawn about their contests, while Havoc and Max discussed their favourite battles between challengers and champions.

A while later, Caroline send Vern and Havoc off to the guest room to bed. Havoc slept on the floor, after losing to Vern in Cyndaquil, Totodile, Chikorita.

 _I'm one step closer to Rustboro._ , Havoc thought, excitement filling him, before fatigue finally got the better of him he drifted off to sleep.

Havoc got out of bed early the next morning. Seeing that Vern was still asleep, he gave him a swift kick, exclaiming, "Oi! Wake up already. We've got to train if we want to get better."

Vern retreated further under his blanket. One water gun later, Vern was rearing to go. They brushed and freshened up quickly and got dressed. As they left the room with their pokemon, the door opposite opened, to reveal May and Dawn in matching jigglypuff pyjamas.

"What's with all the noise. Keep it down?"

"Got to train if we're going to excel, don't we? Sorry about the noise, though."

As they left, Vern couldn't resist but call, "You two should wear those PJs to your contests. I'm sure the judges will love them!"

That's how Vern got his hair set on fire, courtesy of Dawn's Cyndaquill.

Later that day, Havoc went with Vern, Max and May to the market district. The Pokemon League gave an allowance to pokedex holders for supplies and medicine. Max and Vern went off to get one half of the supplies, while May and Havoc went to fetch the other half, to get the shopping done faster.

While picking up pokeblock components in one of the stores, May suddenly spoke up.

"Havoc, I've been thinking..."

No response. Havoc was in the information corner, engrossed in a pamphlet warning trainers about not interfering with Slugma and Numel migrations that occured in the winter of every year.

"Havoc!"

Havoc perked up. He'd heard his name. He turned to May, who was glaring at him.

"What's the matter?"

"Why not take Dawn with you? The route coordinators and League challengers take are not all that different, you know."

"I guess..."

May continued to glare at him.

"I mean, if she wants to, she's welcome to join us. Vern might just learn a thing or two from her experience in contests."

May smiled, satisfied.

"Great! Dawn was hoping to find people to travel with because I couldn't. Problem solved!"

"Whoopee."

"What was that?"

"I just coughed a little. The dust here...it's deadly.."

Gathering supplies was taken care of. In terms of gear and supplies, they were ready to leave.

Vern, Max, May and Havoc headed home.

Dawn was happy to hear that she'd be travelling with Vern and Havoc. Havoc couldn't shake of the feeling Vern was the main reason she was happy to join them. He made a mental note to harass Vern about it. They began to pack, and by nightfall, were done packing. They would leave the next day. May was leaving the next day as well; she was going to take a ship back to Johto.

While Havoc and Vern held a practice battle before dinner, Max came to watch them. As he guided his pokemon, Havoc noticed Max's sad expression and withdrawn demeanour. The battle ended in a tie between Torchic and Combusken. Vern went off to do a double-check on their packing. Havoc sat down next to Max.

"What's the matter, Max? You look sad."

"It's just that, my sister's taking off for Johto with her pokemon while I'm stuck here. I don't even get to go with her 'cause she'd like to focus on her contest and not have to worry about me all the time."

"I see. How old are you?"

"9."

"Good enough for me. How'd you like to come along with me as I tour Hoenn?I noticed you own a PokeNav. We could really use your help with navigation."

"I've already done that last year, thanks."

"Yeah, but did you get to have a pokemon of your own last year?"

"My dad says I've got to wait another year to get one from Professor Birch."

"Well I say different. From my conversations with you, it's pretty clear you're smart enough and mature enough to have a pokemon of your own."

Havoc leaned forward and whispered conspirationally, "If you're interested, I'll help you catch a pokemon or two of your own. If you'd like, I could even help you train them."

Max's eyes widened at the offer being made. He was dying to get a pokemon of his own and start battling. Last year, when he'd toured Hoenn with Ash Ketchum and May, he'd been so envious of everyone's pokemon and the friendship that having a pokemon entailed. This would be a great opportunity for him to get as sharp as he could before he had to pick his starter.

"I don't know if my parents will agree to it."

"Well, do they really have to know about you getting a pokemon? We'll be back in a few months for the Balance Badge. It'll be too late for them to say no by then, 'cause you'll have a pokemon by then!"

That would work. _I'll treat my pokemon well and show dad I'm ready for that kind of responsibility. Plus, I'll have a new friend or two who'll always be with me!_ , max deliberated in his head.

"Deal."

"Shake on it."

They shook hands, shared a grin. Then they went inside, where Caroline was calling for them to help with laying the table.

"I'd like to go with Havoc on his journey.", Max spoke up just as Caroline was serving desert: trifle pudding.

"You would, huh?", Norman mused. "I think it's a pretty good idea. At the end of it, you'll know Hoenn pretty well. When you set out on a journey of your own, you'll be better prepared as well."

"I think it's a good idea too! It's better than staying cooped at home.", May added.

"I guess you'd better get packing, Max!", his mother told him with a warm smile.

"Yes!", Max celebrated, running off to get his stuff together for the trip.

May could've sworn she saw Max fist bump with Havoc as he ran off gleefully.


	4. Chapter 4:ROCK WRECKER

**CHAPTER 4:ROCK WRECKER**

There are many great things to wake up to in the morning: a cup of coffee waiting for you in the nightstand, Christmas presents at the feet of your bed, opening your eyes to your loved one smiling at you, and so on and so forth. Waking up to Havoc screaming isn't one of them. Max, Dawn and Vern and their pokemon could vouch for that. They were camping in the Petalburg Woods. They were a day's walk away from Rustboro.

"Five more minutes.", Dawn mumbled, withdrawing further into her sleeping bag.

Vern jumped out of bed, brandishing the thermos he kept with him when he slept, as if about to fight any intruders in hand-to-thermos.

Max tried to jump out too but only managed to get himself entangled in the bag further; he tripped and fell over.

"What's going on?" , Vern cried.

Havoc stopped screaming, out of breath.

"This. Nutcase.", he wheezed, gesturing to Metang, who was floating over Havoc.

"He. Woke. Me up. I thought someone was talking to me. When I opened my eyes, I found myself looking into a pair of red eyes. His eyes. And like, nothing was wrong, he just said _yo_."

"He greeted you and you understood him?", a puzzled Vern asked.

"Metang. Met-ang.", Metang spoke.

"I'm not understanding anything."

"It's probably Metang's developing psychic abilities.", Max explained as he extracted himself from his sleeping bag. "As psychic types grow more powerful, they are able to establish a mental link with their trainers. Thus, they can mentally communicate. They can also act as a medium between the trainer and other pokemon. Metang's a part psychic type. It's to be expected."

"Oh."

Havoc picked himself up. He looked at his Metang, and concentrated.

 _Anyone home?_ , he ventured, projecting his mental dialogue outward from his mind.

 _So you finally calmed down, then. About time, a_ voice in his head replied.

 _Am I speaking to Metang right now?_

 _No, this is Deoxys. I've got Jirachi on line two._

 _Hilarious._

 _Yes, this is Metang. Sorry about the way I woke you up. I felt like something had changed between us, you know? I could feel your thoughts shifting and churning as you dreamed. I tried to communicate with you, which caused you to wake up. You know the rest._

 _It's all right. It's more than all right. You can read minds now!_ , Havoc mentally exclaimed excitedly.

 _I know, right?_ , Metang replied, sharing his excitement.

 _Can you also relay thoughts and words to other pokemon from me?_

 _We won't really know till we've tried, will we?_

 _All right. Let's try to talk to Treecko!_

 _Say something in your head, I'll relay it to Treecko._

' _Treecko, wakey, wakey. Havoc's going to use Mudkip in a battle instead of you..'_

Treecko jumped up so fast and so high he hit his head against a tree trunk. When he saw Havoc, laughing with Metang, he realized what had happened. He started shaking his fist and "treecko"-ing at him.

A voice in Havoc's head piped up, _What the hell, Havoc? I was sleeping!_

Metang must've relayed what Treecko was saying to him. This mind link deal was turning out to be a pretty sweet ability.

 _Sorry about that, Treecko. Metang here just gained the ability to mentally speak to me and let me understand other pokemon as well. We were giving it a try._

Treecko just shook his head and looked the other ay.

"How's it going with the psychic link?", Max asked.

"Pretty well. I just understood what Treecko said to me, thanks to Metang. Can I link with other people's minds through Metang?"

"I don't think so. It's better not to risk trying. You might just cause serious harm to someone's mind."

"Yeah, I guess. Still, woohoo! I can talk to pokemon!"

"Yeah, you're a real pokemon whisperer. It's not like other trainers with psychic types can't pull of the same thing. Now help me out here. Wake up the pokemon. Oh, and Dawn too. I think she slept off again. I'll make breakfast."

"All right."

Havoc went about waking up the others. He didn't use Metang's newfound power, as he didn't want to scare them or annoy them by prodding at their minds like he had done to Treecko. Finally, he went over to Dawn. Piplup was sleeping next to her, while the rest of her team were wide awake and mingling around with the others. He woke Piplup up first, and then turned to Dawn.

"Dawn, wake up."

"Mm. Five more minutes."

"You just had five!"

"Zzz.."

Piplup addressed him, and thanks to Metang, Havoc understood. _Leave this to me._

"Okay.", he replied.

He fired a Hydro Pump at Dawn, and she woke up instantly.

"Piplup, why?"

Piplup just gestured to her bag, as if to tell her to get ready already. He walked off towards the other pokemon.

Dawn got out of bed and began to make her hair. The smell of sizzling sausages filled the air.

Dawn laid a blanket on the ground and set plates and cutlery. Havoc went around filling up each pokemon's bowl with the appropriate feed. Max fiddled with his PokeNav, checking on weather conditions and any important notices that might have been released regarding the path they were taking.

Over breakfast, our heroes discussed their next move.  
"At our current pace, we'll reach Rustboro by nightfall.", announced Max.

"Great! I can't wait for my first gym battle!", Havoc exclaimed.

"After that, we'll head to Dewford by ferry, where a new contest hall's been built. Dawn and I can register ourselves over there, as well as try for our first ribbon. Havoc will take on Brawly for his second League badge.", said Vern.

"Will the two fo you have to compete for the same ribbon?", Max asked.

"Nope. Since I've earned five ribbons in Sinnoh, I'm now eligible to participate in Super Rank contests. Vern's just starting out as a coordinator, so he'll be taking part in Normal Rank contests."

"I see."

They finished their breakfast in silence. They packed up, returned their pokemon to their pokeballs and continued on to Rustboro. On the way, Vern came across a phantump as he refiled his thermos from a stream; after a short battle, Vern had caught the phantump, thus adding a grass and ghost type to his team. They stopped for Lunch a little after noon, and then pressed on. They reached the Rustboro South Entry Gate as the sun was setting.

The first thing they did when they got to town was check in at the Pokemon Centre. After dinner, Dawn took Vern to help him get the hang of how to make pokeblocks and pokepuffs, which helped improve a pokemon's various aspects in went to the room he was sharing with Havoc and Vern; he was tired from the week-long journey through the woodlands. Havoc went to the training courtyard to get some extra practice in before his battle with Leader Roxanne the next day. He'd scheduled the battle for nine the next morning. Havoc had been working the whole week on coming up with a technique for Metang to replace the bullet technique he had used when Metang had been a Beldum. He had almost perfected it. He'd picked out his team for the next day's battle as well.

As Vern and Dawn made their way back to the PC from the Pokeblock Palace(a chain of outlets that let trainers make pokeblocks and pokepuffs for their pokemon and experiment around with berries), they went through the yard to see if Havoc was done training. The yard was empty, no pokemon training was underway. However, in the corner, under a tree, dozing away was Havoc. He was surrounded by his sleeping partners. Metang was lying on Havoc's lap. Treecko napped, perched on Havoc's head. Mudkip had managed to find Havoc's pokedex and was sleeping on the ground next to Havoc, dex tucked between his arms; when he shifted in his sleep, his nose would press against the ID button and the dex would chirp, "This pokedex belongs to Havoc from Oldale Town."

Torchic rested on Havoc's right shoulder, slumped against Havoc's neck.

Vern was about to wake them up, when Dawn stopped him.

"Wait a sec. A moment like this deserves to be captured.", she said. Vern nodded and moved aside. She removed a camera from her bag and took a photo of the dozing pokemon and their trainer.

The two just looked on at the sight for a while longer. After a while, Vern woke Havoc up, and he returned his sleeping pokemon to their balls. He then proceeded to join his companions as they made their way to the rooms they had booked for the night.

"I'm here for my battle with Roxanne!", Havoc announced as he strode into the rock type gym the next morning, followed by his friends. The receptionist informed him that Roxanne was ready and waiting for him inside. She also directed Max, Dawn and Vern to the seating area for spectators.

As Havoc walked into the fighting area, he saw Roxanne at the other end of the hall, sitting at a desk, shuffling through papers.

"You'll have to fight your way to get to me!", she called.

"Fine by me.", Havoc replied.

Two trainers came forward.

"We'll be your opponents for today.", piped up your youngster.

"Before fighting the leader, you must face us to prove that you are worth her time.", added a hiker.

"Bring it!", Havoc commanded.

The youngster wasn't much of a challenge; Havoc's Treecko was able to defeat all three of his geodude. The hiker proved to be more difficult. Treecko had to use bullet seed several times to knock down the hiker's onix. Vern and Dawn cheered him on the entire time, while Max watched every move carefully, noting things of interest down in a pocket notebook he had bought along for the trip.

Finally, Havoc was done with the two trainers. Roxanne had been watching the battle, paperwork forgotten. She got up, and walked up to the opposite end of the battlefield.

"You've proven yourself. I accept your challenge!", Roxanne announced.

The referee started, "This is a three versus three single battle. Substitutions are allowed. The battle will end when one side has no more pokemon that can battle! Begin!"

Roxanne sent out her geodude.

Havoc sent out Treecko.

"Magnitude!", Roxanne ordered.

"Jump and propel yourself upwards using bullet seed!", Havoc commanded.

"What the heck is he doing?", a confused Max asked no one in particular.

"What make Havoc an exceptional battler is not how well he has trained his pokemon, but how well he puts them and their movesets to use.", Vern explained.

Dawn just watched on. These unorthodox tactics reminded of a certain trainer she had previously travelled with..

As Treecko launched into the air while Geodude used Magnitude, Havoc issued his second command: "Land on top of Geodude!"

Treecko made landfall on Geodude's head, the one place on the battlefield that wouldn't be hit with magnitude, and firmly gripped his opponent.

"Follow up with growl and bullet seed again."

"Shake him off with rollout!", Roxanne ordered. Geodude managed to shake Treecko off and used rollout. It made contact, but Treecko seemed unfazed. Growl had lowered Geodude's attacking ability; plus, Rollout, when first used, it is not very powerful; it is a move that gains power through successive use. Growl had lowered the damage of rollout, so Treecko wasn't hurt badly. Treecko used bullet seed. Bullet seed was a chain attack, so it wasn't hindered by Geodude's ability, Sturdy. Geodude's ground-rock typing meant it received four times the damage. Geodude wasn't able to take the barrage, and collapsed. Roxanne recalled and thanked her pokemon.

"Lileep, get in there!"

Havoc recalled Treecko. Lileep was a defensive pokemon, and he wanted to end the battle quickly before Roxanne could spring any kind of trap on him. He'd need to exploit type advantages. He knew exactly who he'd need for the job.

"Metang, let's do this!"

"Astonish!"

"Use Protect, Metang! Follow up with Twin Wrecker!"

"There's no move called Twin Wrecker!", Max exclaimed.

"It must be the replacement he came up with for Beldum's bullet technique, now that Metang has evolved.", Dawn guessed. Her guess was right.

Metang's socketed arms began to rotate in a circular motion; slowly at first, but then gaining velocity at an alarming rate, as Metang used Psychic to propel his arms even faster. Once his arms were rotating as fast as he could handle, Metang charged at Lileep at full speed.

"Use curse!", yelled Roxanne, in a bid to raise defense and attack.

Metang crashed into Lileep, arms pummelling Lileep furiously. His arms were glowing faintly.

"He's using metal claw!", Vern realized.

"And with his arms rotating at those speeds, Metang is hitting Lileep Arceus knows how many times! As if that's not enough, Metal Claw has a chance of raising attack with each hit. Each blow is more powerful than the one before! Holy crap!", finished a flabbergasted Max. He began to scribble furiously in his notebook.

Dawn watched, a grin beginning to form on her face. Oh, this guy was a carbon copy of him, all right, making the most of every move.

Lileep gave out a few moments later; her defence increase hadn't been enough to shield her from the onslaught, neither had she had a chance to launch a counter attack. Roxanne was shocked by the trainer standing before her. Just who and what exactly was she dealing with here? Lileep was her gamechanger, stopping challengers in their tracks with her Curse/Toxic/Leech Seed combo. This guy had put an end to Lileep before she could even get started with the carefully devised combo!

"Lileep is unable to battle! Metang wins!", announced the ref.

A moment later, Metang fell to the ground, winded from the new technique. He hadn't fainted, but he wasn't in fighting form either.

"Thanks a lot, Metang. You were fantastic out there. Take a break; you've more than earned it.", commended Havoc.

 _Anytime._ , Metang replied as he went back to his pokeball.

"Probopass, come on out!"

Roxanne had called out her final pokemon.

"Mudkip, I choose you!"

Out came Mudkip, ready to deal some damage.

"Ram him!", ordered Roxanne.

"Dodge it! Low Kick!"

Mudkip dodged the charging Probopass by a hair's breadth and retaliated with Low Kick, which struck the Compass Pokemon in the back.

"Mudkip can't learn Low Kick!", Max exclaimed.

"A tutor can teach it to Mudkip. Havoc must've gone to a tutor. Probopass must be hurting real bad right now. It takes quadruple damage from fighting type attacks. Plus, Low Kick inflicts damage depending on the weight of the opponent. More weight means more damage. Probopass is a heavy pokemon, so Low Kick would've hit even harder. Havoc had planned everything.", Vern mused.

"He's still standing.", Dawn muttered.

"It must be Sturdy!", deduced Max.

"Probopass, hit it with Magnet Bomb!", shrieked Roxanne. With a smile, she added, "Sorry, challenger, but this ends now. Magnet Bomb never misses."

"I beg to differ. Mudkip, send that bomb packing with Aqua Tail!", called Havoc.

Boy, was he glad he had run into that move tutor on his way to the yard for training! The tutor had recognized Havoc from the video of him defending Professor Birch, and had been more than happy to help a 'fine young man' like him with his pokemon's movesets.

Mudkip took aim, and hit the incoming Magnet Bomb with Aqua Tail. Magnet Bomb ricocheted off Aqua Tail and flew off into a wall, making a hole.

"Mud Slap!", Havoc shouted.

Without missing a beat, Mudkip used Mud Slap on his opponent.

The strain of being hit by two quadruple damage-dealing attacks was too much for Probopass. It collapsed.

It took a moment for the ref to catch up, as he was still gaping at the hole in the wall.

"Probopass has fainted. Mudkip wins!", announced the ref, who had finally regained his composure.

As Havoc was about to recall Mudkip, Mudkip suddenly began to glow white. There was a bright flash of light. When the light stopped, in Mudkip's place, stood a newly evolved Marshtomp.

"Nice! You decided to evolve, huh?", Havoc shouted joyfully, as he rushed to give Marshtomp a hug. Marshtomp returned the hug fiercely, untill Havoc was wheezing from lack of air. Marshtomp let Havoc go quickly, grinning sheepishly and rattling off an apology while his trainer took large gulps of air. As he saw Roxanne approaching him, he recalled Marshtomp, thanking him for his efforts.

"Well, you beat me.", began Roxanne. Max, Dawn and Vern broke into applause, happy for their friend's victory.

"I suppose I did.", replied Havoc. He was unable to contain himself any longer. He broke out in a small jig, shouting "Yowzah!" at the end. Once he was done, Roxanne continued with a small smile, "For successfully beating me in a pokemon battle, I bestow upon you the Stone Badge!"

Havoc accepted it, grinning madly the whole time. He took out the case Professor Birch had given him when he had left Littleroot, and extracted a badge case from the depths of Birch's case. Gingerly, he placed his newly earned badge inside the badge case, above a small label saying 'RUSTBORO:STONE BADGE'. After he had placed his case in his jacket's inner pocket, Roxanne continued, "Your next challenge awaits you in Dewford. You'll need to hail a ferry if you want ot get there. I'll speak to Mr. Briney, the captain of the _Crasher Wake_ , to get you and your friends rooms aboard his ship. It'll be a few days' sailing before you get there."

"Thank you."

Roxanne held out her hand, "It's my pleasure."

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Um, about the wall-"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay.."

Havoc shook her hand, and bade her, the ref and the trainers he had battled earlier goodbye. As he left to meet his friends, who were waiting for him outside outside, the ref spoke up.

"That kid's going places.", he observed.

"He sure is.", agreed Roxanne.

As Havoc made his way outside, he saw that a small crowd had gathered around the hole in the wall that had been made during his battle with Roxanne. He could see Gabby reporting outside, no doubt talking about the hole and exactly what could have caused it. He hid his face(he didn't really feel like dealing with Gabby or explaining himself right then) and walked in the other direction, where his friends were waiting.

"That was freaking amazing!", Max squealed as he tackled Havoc with a hug.

"You were superb!", praised Vern, giving him a slap on the back that made him wince.

"You fought really well, Havoc!", added Dawn, who gave him a high five.

"Thanks a lot, guys!"

As they began to walk away, making plans about what to do next in Rustboro, the damaged wall collapsed completely, along with a portion of the roof. The gym looked more like an auditorium now.

Roxanne could be heard shouting, "Arceus damn it, Havoc!".

"Oops.", muttered Havoc. The four friends exchanged looks, debating silently what to do. After some deliberation, they made a decision.

The foursome ran off, laughing.


	5. Chapter 5:FIGHT AND FLIGHT

**CHAPTER 5:FIGHT AND FLIGHT**

"Come on, come on, come on!", Max gleefully called, as he ran through the hallways of the _Crasher Wake_ , with his friends trying to keep up. Thanks to Roxanne(who still wasn't quite over the fact that Havoc had trashed her gym in the course of their battle), they had scored two cabins aboard the ferry which felt more like a cruise ship. Max bunked with Dawn, while Vern and Havoc shared the other cabin. They were now bound to Dewford, where Dawn and Vern intended to participate in the contest held their, while Havoc was going to face Brawly, a fighting type expert, for his second gym badge.

"Max, wait up!", Dawn called.

Max led them to a huge display room, which housed an aquarium where water shows featuring various water types Mr Briney had caught and trained over the years he had spent at sea were held. At the centre of the room, stood Mr Briney with a PA microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! The _Crasher Wake_ is known not only for the comfortable voyage it provides, but also for the blazing hot battles that are held aboard and the hotter prizes up for grabs! Today's special prize is a real catch! Behold!"

Mr Briney whipped out a net ball, and out came a nincada. However, it was no ordinary nincada; it was coloured differently; rather than the usual whit colouring seen in nincada, this one was gold.

Max gasped. "A shiny!"

Shiny pokemon were incredibly rare. Max turned to Havoc.

"Havoc can you please get that shiny nincada for me? Pleeease?"

Havoc thought about it. He had promised to help Max get some pokemon of his own, and nincada seemed to be a good pokemon to get the hang of being a trainer with. They were docile and intelligent, and had an impeccable sense of direction, so even if Max did get lost, he could rely on this nincada to guide him home.

 _You should get him that pokemon, you know. He could do with a friend who always has time for him. Between you training and Vern and Dawn practicing, Max must feel left out. He could join in if he had a pokemon of his own. When you guys would be busy, he would still have a friend to spend time with. Don't be a nimrod! Go for it!_ , Metang's voice rang in his head. Havoc mentally agreed with Metang and turned to Max.

"Will you promise to take care of it, train with it, feed it and love it with all your heart?"

"Of course I will, Havoc! You know I will!", Max cried, crossing his heart and hoping to die.

Behind Max, Vern nodded vigorously, as if to say, _Do it!_

Dawn gave him a thumbs up.

"I've got to take care of something. I'll be back soon. Good luck with the nincada, you two!", said Dawn, as she made her way to some stalls that had been set up nearby.

"I'll go with Dawn. We'll meet for lunch in the dining hall at one. Take care!"

With that, Vern dashed off after Dawn. Havoc couldn't help but shake off the feeling that Vern had a-never mind. He had a pokemon to snag. Time to focus.

"What do I have to do to win this nincada?", Havoc asked Mr Briney. Max stood next to him.

"Well, there isn't a whole lotta interest in this shiny nincada here. We were going to hold a tournament with this nincada as the prize for the winner, but only one other trainer had expressed any interest in it.", said Mr Briney ruefully. Then he brightened up a bit.

"Tell you what, if you battle the other trainer who's interested in it, I'll give the nincada to the winner. What do you think?"

Max turned to Havoc, doing the whole begging eyes and cranking up the adorable factor to max.

"Deal. I could do with a battle. My team was getting sick of being cooped up, sitting around idly."

Max's eyes shone.

"Good. Gimme a sec to make an announcement.", said Briney. He picked up his PA and spoke into it. His voice echoed throughout the ship.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! For your viewing pleasure, we will be conducting a pokemon battle on Deck Four in ten minutes. Two trainers will be battling for the right to take home with them a shiny nincada!"

"A pokemon battle's going to take place on Deck Four soon. Shall we go watch?", asked Vern.

Dawn was doing something on one of the computers. Her camera was plugged in to the computer.

She looked up from what she was doing.

"Just give me a minute. I've got to send this. Then we'll go."

"'Kay."

She smiled as the screen read "YOUR MAIL WAS SENT SUCCESSFULLY". She unplugged her camera and stashed it in her bag. Then she went off with Vern, headed for Deck 4.

"This will be a two on two double battle. Substitutions are not allowed! The battle will end when one side's pokemon are no longer able to battle. Begin!"

The opposing trainer, a girl who's name Havoc did not know, sent out Hawlucha and Skarmoury.

"Havoc, that's a hawlucha! Fighting-flying type! Skarmoury is a steel-flying type!", Max informed him as Havoc prepared to send out his pokemon. He nodded in acknowledgement, formulating a plan in his head. He sent out Torchic and Treecko.

"Will you look at that! The gentleman in the green jacket has sent out treecko and torchic! While his torchic has an edge over Skarmoury, Treecko is at a type disadvantage against his flying type opponents. What is he thinking?", the commentator blared.

"Woah! Skarmoury is making a beeline for Treecko, who's just standing there as if he's waiting to be finished off! He's going to hit Treecko with an aerial ace; which could mean a one hit knockout. What is his trainer thinking? Holy cow! That was unexpected! Treecko was bait all along! His partner got Skarmoury with ember point blanc, to the head! That's going to leave a mark! There we go, Skarmoury has fainted. It's now two against one! What a turnover!"

Dawn and Vern had been trying to get a view of the battle, but the crowd was thick and unyielding. All they could hear was the commentary over the PA.

When they heard the commentator mention a torchic and talk about a treecko being used as bait, they knew immediately who was fighting the battle.

Vern turned to find Dawn looking at him with a questioning look.

"Havoc?"

"Havoc.", confirmed Vern.

They gave up trying to wade through the crowd. Instead they tried to listen to the commentary over the din of the spectators as best as they could.

"Hawlucha seems to have realized that Treecko is bait, He's hurling towards Torchic, ready to strike with its signature move, the Flying Press! What's this? A blur of movement behind him?! It's Treecko! Oh my-It was a double trap! Treecko uses Acrobatics on Halucha, hitting with double the force as he has no item! Torchic was the bait this time! Ingenious! And Hawluch is down as well! I don't think any of us were expecting this outcome, were we? Victory goes to Havoc from Oldale!"

As the crowd began to clear, Dawn and Vern made their way to where Havoc stood with Max. Mr Briney handed Max the pokeball for Nincada.

Havoc, Torchic and Treecko watched as Max called out Nincada. It approached Max cautiously. Nincada stuck out his front leg, while Max offered his right hand. They shook; Max's hand and Nincada's front leg. Suddenly, Nincada jumped onto Max, enveloping him in a hug; once Max had regained his balance, he held Nincada there, laughing joyfully. Max and Nincada had accepted each other; the bond had been formed. Havoc stood there with Treecko and Torchic, the three of them grinning at the scene unfolding before them.

Vern couldn't help but smile at the sight. He turned to see Dawn's reaction. Most of her face was obscured by her camera, but he could see a smile playing across her lips.

After a while, Havoc and Max went off(Max still held Nincada in his arms) to the Dining Hall for lunch.

"Come on, Dawn. Lunchtime.", said Vern, as he strode forward to join the others.

"You go on. I'll catch up. I've got an email to send.", replied Dawn, walking off.

"See you at lunch?", Vern called.

"Yeah. See you there.", Dawn called back.

As they were finishing up with lunch(hamburgers and shakes) while their pokemon ate nearby, a girl approached the foursome's table. Havoc recognized her as the trainer from the double battle for Nincada. She had a athletic build, warm brown eyes, pale milky complexion and shiny black hair. She stopped next to Havoc, and began, "You fought very well today."

"You too.", replied Havoc. He gave Treecko a high five and stroked Torchic's head.

"Where'd you learn how to fight like you did?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your strategies and tactics?", she elaborated.

"I came up with them on my own, if that's what you're asking about."

"Oh. So no one taught you about battling?"

"Nope. I figured stuff out by myself. I've read quite a lot about them too, so I know a thing or two about pokemon battles, abilities and a few other things."

"Impressive."

"Thank you. You're pretty good yourself. We would have been floored if we hadn't set that trap for your skarmoury."

The girl turned a light shade of red at the praise. "Thanks! What'd you do with Nincada?"

"Oh, I gave it to my buddy Max here; he's Nincada's partner now."

On hearing the word 'Max', Nincada ditched his food and jumped onto and clung to Max's head.

Max smiled at the girl and gave her a wave of greeting, Nincada still attached to his head. She returned his greeting with a polite nod.

They continued to talk for a while longer, as Max tried to dislodge Nincada off of his head.

After a while, they began to get up, as they were done with lunch.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, but I've got to practice now. I've got a gym battle coming up!", Havoc said, and began to walk off with his friends towards the practice deck of the ferry-cruise ship.

"Wait! Can't I train with you?", the girl called.

Havoc stopped, and turned to look at her. He gave it some thought, and then replied, "Sure."

As the girl joined them, she realized she hadn't introduced herself.

"I'm Grace. From Rustboro."

"Havoc. From Oldale."

Havoc proceeded to introduce Grace to his friends. Off they went.

Training was an enjoyable affair. Vern battled with Max and Nincada using Phantump, whom he had caught in the Petalburg woods a while back. In a surprising turn of events, Max won. Nincada had turned out to be quite a powerful pokemon, using hard-hitting moves like Bug Bite and Faint Attack on Phantump, who put up a good fight as well but found herself to be outmatched. Vern moped for a bit, but congratulated Max on winning his first battle as a trainer.

"You're a trainer now.", Dawn told the boy.

Max just grinned, fiercely hugging Nincada, who hugged his trainer back with equal, if not greater ferocity.

While Vern and Dawn then taught Max how to take care of his hurt pokemon without going to a Pokemon Centre, Havoc trained with Grace; the two of them duked it out four times, and were both winded by the end of it, just like their pokemon. Initially, Havoc had been winning at first; but then Grace began to up her game as well, using tricks and traps of her own. The last three matches had culminated in draws. Havoc seemed to have finally met his match. After they were done training, they returned to their rooms to freshen up. Grace joined them for dinner. The evening flew by as they talked, joked and laughed. As they began to make their way back to their rooms, Havoc turned to Grace as she went the other way, who headed for the telephone booth.

"See you tomorrow, Grace!", Havoc called.

"Good night, Havoc."

As he left, he didn't notice Grace smiling to herself.

"Land ho! And about time too!", Havoc shouted happily. Vern and Dawn were excited as well, with their first contests fast approaching. Max and Grace were having an argument over the best dual typing possible for a flying type. Max was supporting electric-flying, while Grace supported steel-flying.

They continued squabbling, even as they disembarked the ferry, untill Max finally conceded that steel-flying was the way to go. Steel-flying offered more type resistances and more type immunities.

As they looked around, Grace spoke up, looking at the sky. "This isn't right! What's with the storm? Dewford's sunny all year."

The sky was littered with stormclouds, a lighting could be seen flashing over the horizon. It was drizzling.

"This is weird.", agreed Max. He held up his trusty PokeNav. "It says here that today's forecast is warm and sunny."

Suddenly, the clouds began to clear, and the drizzling stopped as well. The sun began to shine through the rapidly receding clouds.

"What is this? Weather doesn't just change this rapidly.", a puzzled Vern wondered.

"Oh, well. Whatever that was, it's gone now!", Dawn broke the silence as the others pondered upon what was going on with the weather. "Come on, Vern. We've got to register ourselves at the contest hall!"

"Oh, yeah!" Vern grinned and went off with Dawn towards the hall in the distance.

"I've got a few, erm, errands to run. See you later.", said Grace, taking her leave. She looked uncomfortable for some reason.

As Max waved goodbye, he turned to Havoc to suggest they should heal up their pokemon at the PC, he stopped. Was it just him, or did Havoc look sad seeing Grace go?

Havoc snapped out of it. "Come on, let's heal up at the Centre. Then, we'll go see Dawn and Vern as the hall."

By the time Max and Havoc got to the hall, Dawn and Vern were done registering. They were browsing in a store outside that sold seals. Dawn was giving Vern a crash course on how seals worked. They met up, and debated their next course of action.

"How about we head to Granite Cave? There are a lot of pokemon there, and it's pretty isolated. It's a good place to train and practice."

"Sound good to me.", agreed Havoc.

"I'm in.", Vern agreed.

"Let's go!", joined in Dawn.

The foursome set out for Granite Cave.

Over the course of the next two weeks, our heroes camped out outside Granite Cave, and began to train there in preparation for their upcoming challenges. Havoc's battle with Brawly was set on the same day as Dawn and Vern's contests. Grace dropped by every now and then to see how they were doing; sometimes having practice battles against Havoc, giving feedback on Vern and Dawn's moves, and helping Max out with his Nincada's training. During this time, they caught some new pokemon as well. Dawn caught a steelix who she had happened upon while wandering through the cave; after a lengthy battle which ended with Buneary freezing the steelix, Dawn succeeded in catching the Iron Snake Pokemon. She sent Pachirisu back to Rowan's lab and added Steelix to her party. Havoc caught a golbat, who was the leader of a swarm of Zubat; he had to battle all of Golbat's cronies before he could move on to catch Golbat. Golbat had fit in reasonably well, but had developed a rivalry with Torchic. Vern didn't catch a new pokemon, but instead worked on developing Phantump's skills. He and Phantump had gone into the depths of Granite Cave to train for three days; when they came back, bruised and battered, Phantump had evolved into the formidable Trevenant. Max had been training with his Nincada as well. He too had grinded in Granite Cave, albeit on the first floor itself, with Havoc supervising. Havoc had also scored a rare prize, a TM; he had won it from an old explorer who lived in a cottage by the sea, near Granite Cave, in a pokemon battle. The old geezer had put up a hell of a fight with his Sandslash and Boldore; but they fell eventually, at the hands of Marshtomp and Treecko.

The day before the competition, all of them turned in early. Vern and Dawn would head to their contests, while Max would go with Havoc to the Dewford Gym. Once Havoc would finish his gym battle, he and Max would join them at the contest hall.

They set out early, at first light, the next morning. The hour-long walk wasn't especially tiring, thanks to the path to Dewford being sloping downwards rather than upwards. The cool sea breeze helped as well. Havoc and Max parted ways with Vern and Dawn as they turned right for the gym.

"Good luck!", Vern and Dawn called, their voices fading away as they continued walking towards the contest hall.

Havoc and Max entered the gym and walked over to the receptionist.

"Good morning. I have a match scheduled for today with Leader Brawly.", explained Havoc.

"Yes, he is expecting you. Please, go on through.", the receptionist replied, gesturing at a door. "Good luck. You're going to need it.", she added, as an afterthought.

As Havoc went through the door alone(Max had gone to the spectators' stands). A ref told him that he'd have to fight three trainers to get to Brawly. Havoc nodded and went on through the first door.

His first opponent was a sailor with a machoke. Havoc used Golbat for the job. Machoke turned out to be no threat, and Golbat prevailed.

The next trainer was a battle girl, who used a mienfoo and a primeape. Treecko and Metang came through.

Max watched Havoc breeze through the first two trainers with a smirk. Havoc is on a roll, and might just make it a hattrick with the third, Max predicted to himself. When he saw the third trainer walk onto the field, Max's jaw dropped.

"What the hell?"

Havoc was wondering what he'd have to do to overcome the third of his challengers, when he saw who it was. He couldn't believe his eyes. A sinking feeling began to creep up to him as he came to grasp the full implications of this new twist.

Standing before him, pokeball at the ready, was Grace.


	6. Chapter 6:SPONTANEOUS COMBUSKEN

**CHAPTER 6: SPONTANEOUS COMBUSKEN**

Vern's hands were shaking. Dawn noticed his shaking hands as he fumbled around with his tuxedo's buttons.

"Stage fright?", she asked, walking over to him and helping him with the buttons on his tux, and straightened out his bowtie for him.

"Mm-hmm. I've never done this before."

"Relax. You're going to be fine. I've seen the techniques you've come up with, and they're really quite something. You're going to be great out there! So buck up, get out there and show them what you've got!"

"Thanks, Dawn! Good luck with your contest!"

As he left for the waiting room for the Normal Rank contestants, Dawn straightened herself out as well.

 _You're going to be just fine. You've got your gig planed out, you've practiced like crazy, and you've got the skills to pay the bills. So there's nothing to worry about! Give it your best, and have a good time._

As her mental monologue ended, her shoulders relaxed and she smiled at herself reassuringly. As she followed the signs to the waiting room for Super Rank participants, she couldn't help but wonder if Havoc was alright.

She snorted, dismissing any worries floating around in her head.

 _Who'm I kidding? Of course he's fine. He's Havoc_!

Havoc was not fine. Grace, who'd been their friend for the past two weeks, wasn't what she appeared to be. He was shocked when he saw her walk onto the field.

"What are you doing here?", he asked.

Grace shifted uncomfortably. "I'm a trainer here. You have to beat me if you want to battle Brawly.", she explained.

"Yeah, no shit. You're not really from Rustboro, are you?"

"No. I'm a local."

"So why were you on the _Crasher Wake_?"

"That ferry is the only way to reach Dewford unless you have a boat of your own. Most trainers looking to challenge Dewford come aboard the ferry. It's part of my job to seek out trainers about to go head to head with Brawly and get to know their style of fighting, their strategy."

"Why?", asked Havoc, waiting for confirmation on his suspicions.

Grace looked down at the floor.

"So that I can tell Brawly what his challengers have planned for him."

"Why would you do that? This is cheating! You get into some serious trouble for being an accessory to cheating and fixing! Why would you do that for Brawly?"  
Her reply was so soft Havoc almost missed what she said.

"Because he's my foster brother and legal guardian. My foster parents died a while back. Without him, I'm homeless and penniless. Social Services will take me away."

It took him a while to process what he'd just learned.

 _Homeless. Penniless. Social Services._

These words rung in his mind. They were words he had associated with himself before Birch had come to help him out. Having no money and no home; that he could relate to. He had been so happy when Birch had accepted him and invited him to live with him; he had had a home, good food, a place to sleep peacefully and people who cared for him. He had belonged somewhere where he was happy. Even now, when he thought of home, he thought of Birch's house. Havoc understood Grace's predicament. Being homeless was not a good way to live. He had had his share of experiences with Social Services, and none of them were pleasant. She was doing her best to not go back to being homeless again, or ending up with Social Services.

"Grace! I'm going to beat you!", began Havoc.

"You're going to beat me?" Grace had her eyebrows raised.

"Like a drum.", continued Havoc. "Then I'm going to go up to Brawly and give him the beating of his life! He's got no right making you do stuff like this!"

Grace was speechless. Was the guy she had just now, in the simplest of terms, _betrayed_ , going to try help _her_ out?

"Why?"

"Because I can! Bring out your pokemon!"

She sent out Hawlucha. She was so distracted trying to figure out what was Havoc playing at, trying to help her, that she didn't realize when Golbat had floored Hawlucha with Aerial Ace and Poison Fang.

She cursed softly, collected herself, and sent out her next pokemon, Heracross.

"Rock blast!"

"Double team! Follow up with Aerial Ace!", Havoc ordered. While Heracross was confused at which oncoming Golbat to aim for, the real Golbat used Aerial Ace from behind. Heracross crumpled, the STAB-boosted quadruple damage too much for him to withstand.

She stared in dismay as her faithful pokemon was knocked out. She just stood there, dejected. _Another day, another screwup._ She thought to herself bitterly.

Havoc walked upto her from his side of the field, put a hand on her shoulder. He took a rogue strand of hair that was sticking out from her ponytail and tucked it behind her ear. She reddened at the gesture. Unfazed by her blushing, in a low, reassuring tone, he spoke to her.

"Don't worry. You're going to be fine. I promise."

"How can you be so sure that you'll beat Brawly?", asked Grace, frowning at the Oldale trainer's confidence in his victory.

"Because I'm done playing nice."

Max was both confused and curious. Grace had pretended to be his friend only to figure out his plans and tactics and told Brawly about his plans for his battle. He'd have to come up with something from scratch if he wanted to win. She'd stabbed him in the back! So why wasn't he angry? Why hadn't he insulted her or screamed at her? How was he so calm about it?

He told himself to calm down, and leaned back into his seat. Nincada sat in the seat next to him; he had been watching Havoc's battles with avid interest.

 _Havoc must have a reason for why he's not mad at Grace. He'll be fine; he's Havoc!_

With these thoughts, Max calmed down, to some extent anyway. He'd probably get an explanation later; so all he could do till did was sit back and do his best to enjoy the show.

"Well, well ,well. What do we have have here?", Brawly spoke as he entered and made his way to the battlefield.

"A challenger. Duh."

"I heard from Roxanne that you totalled her rock pokemon. Along with her gym."

"The pokemon totalling was intended, but the damage to the gym was an accident."

"Whatever. You here to challenge me for a badge or what?"

"Yes. And another thing.."

"What?"

"If I win, you wash you hands off Grace as her legal guardian."

 _What the cuss is he doing? I'm going to lose my home!,_ Grace fumed mentally.

"Why do you care?", Brawly asked.

"She deserves better than the likes of you as her guardian; you, who threatened to hand her over to Social Services if she didn't help you get inside information on your challengers."

"So, what? She'd be better off with Social Services than with me?"

"Yes. And no, she's not going to be homeless or be carted off to Social Services. I'll see to that."

Brawly thought about it. He decided he didn't really care what happened to the girl. One thing was for sure, he was going to put this upstart in his place.

"Fine. I accept. But if you lose, you can never challenge this gym ever again. What do you say to that?"

"Don't do it, Havoc. Don't.", Max muttered worriedly. If Havoc lost, he would no longer be able to procure the second badge. The maximum number of badges he could have would be seven. Havoc wouldn't be able to participate in the Ever Grande Conference, or challenge the Elite Four and the Champion. Ever.

"Don't accept the wager; it's not worth it."

Havoc turned to Max, as if to ask, _what do you think?_

Max began to shake his head vigorously, doing his best to signal _NO!_ Havoc gave him a nod, as if understanding Max's head-shaking.. Max wiped a bead of sweat off his brow; Havoc seemed to have gotten the message.

Havoc went ahead and accepted the wager.

Max let loose some choice curses that would have gotten him a bar of soap back home.

"This will be a three versus three pokemon battle. Substitutions are allowed. The battle will end when all of one side's pokemon are unable to battle. Begin!"

Brawly chose to go for a heavy opening. He sent out his Hariyama, who hit the hardest of all his pokemon. Havoc sent out Golbat. He had planned on starting off with Metang, but had to come up with a different approach when he realized that Brawly probably knew about Havoc's strategy for this fight.

"Belly Drum!", Brawly ordered, smirking. Hariyama might lose half his health, but his attack would get maxed out.

"Golbat! Poison Fang, and follow up with Aerial Ace."

Golbat struck hard and fast. Hariyama took serious damage, but still managed to remain standing.

Brawly began to laugh.

"I knew you were going to use that combo. And I came prepared! Rock Slide!"

Golbat got hit. Hard. Belly Drum amped up the damage Rock Slide dealt. Golbat fell to the floor, knocked out.

"Shit!", Havoc cursed. Brawly knew all his moves!

Havoc sent out Treecko. Before he could tell Trecko what to do, Brawly shouted, "Reversal!"

"Son of a bitch!", Havoc screamed. Treecko took a thrashing, but managed to remain standing. Reversal was packing an insane amount of power as Hariyama had used Belly Drum, and inflicted even more damage because Reversal powered up when the user was low on health.

"Acrobatics!"

Treecko swung into action despite the heavy punishment he had just taken. Acrobatics finally put Hariyama down.

"Oh ho! Finally took out one of my pokemon, did you? No problem! I've still got two left.", Brawly jeered. He sent out Medicham.

"Treecko! Gut punch him! Poke him in the eye!"

Treecko socked Medicham in the gut and poked out her eyes.

"What kind of tactics are those?! No fair!", Brawly exclaimed.

"What's not fair is how you got Grace to do your bidding. Suck it up. Bullet Seed!"

Treecko fired off Bullet Seed straight into Medicham's face. She fell, defeated.

"Brutality!", Max gleefully shrieked from the stands. Nincada chirped, happy at Treecko's victory.

Brawly was beginning to worry. He sent out a pokemon he'd never used in a gym battle before.

"Lucario! I need you."

Lucario came out, arms folded.

Havoc was worried too. He had intended to use Metang to deal with the third fighting type, but none of Metang's moves would hit hard enough to wrap the match up before it all went to hell. He'd have to use someone else. He recalled Treecko, who was on the verge of fainting.

"Torchic, get in here!"

"Bone Rush!"

"Dodge it!"

Torchic wasn't able to as Lucario was too fast dodge the attack and took it head on. The ground type move would have been super effective. Havoc groaned. When the dust cleared. Torchic was still standing, glaring at Lucario defiantly.

Torchic growled, and Havoc understood(thanks a bunch, Metang) what she was saying: _Come at me, bro._

"Torchic! We've got to win this match! For Grace. Give it everything! Please!"

Torchic began to growl, determined. She let loose a guttural roar, challenging Lucario to do his worst, and began to glow. There was a bright flash. After a few moments, the light stopped abruptly, and in Torchic's place, stood a furious Combusken. An orange aura surrounded Combusken.

"Blaze.", whispered Havoc, correctly identifying the aura around Combusken. When pushed to their limit, fire type starters went into overdrive, and their fire type moves powered up.

"All right! Let's get this over with! Ember!", yelled Havoc, with his confidence returned.

Combusken just stood there, looking confused.

 _Combusken must've learn a move that replaced Ember! But which one?_ , Havoc realized.

Lucario rushed at Combusken with another Bone Rush ready. He flung.

"Use your kicks to deflect it the other way!", Havoc shouted.

As Combusken swung a high powered kick towards the incoming Bone Rush, her outstretched leg deflected the attack. Bone Rush went off spiralling, narrowly missing Grace, who yelled "Eeep!", and hit a wall, making a small hole. Havoc sighed; making holes in gyms' walls was beginning to become a habit.

She kicked again, aiming for Lucario. It hit Lucario, and Lucario went flying.

 _Combusken had learnt Double Kick!_

Havoc whipped out his pokedex to see if any other move had been learned by Combusken thanks to evolution. He grinned evilly when he saw the replacement for Ember.

"Flame Charge!"

Combusken was engulfed in flames, and charged at Lucario. There was no helping Lucario now. Flame Charge increased the user's speed as well. Blaze and STAB would help Flame Charge hit with greater force and ensure a knockout.

The Aura pokemon resignedly looked down at the ground, knowing full well there was no dodging or blocking the veritable meteor headed his way.

There was a fiery explosion as Combusken crashed into Lucario. Lucario was thrown several metres. He lay there, unmoving, still smouldering.

"Lucario is unable to battle! The victory goes to Havoc from Oldale!"

As Havoc went to high five Combusken(who was very pleased to have proper arms of her won), he could here Max whooping from the stands and shouting, "Choke on it, Brawly!"

Brawly grudgingly accepted his defeat, which seemed to have humbled him. He actually looked ashamed of what he'd been doing to Grace. He promised to sign the necessary documents and get them filed within the week. He also awarded the Knuckle badge to Havoc, who accepted it gleefully and stowed it in his badge case. Two down, six to go.

Grace left Brawly and the gym with Havoc and Max. She didn't look back once.

As Vern and Dawn left the hall, they saw Max approaching them. Vern had managed to win his first ribbon, blowing the judges away with Trevenant. Dawn had come close to winning her first ribbon, but she had been defeated by an elderly lady and her gallade in the final round. As Max approached, Vern spoke up.

"You guys didn't show up at all, to see us perform? What happened?", Vern asked, sounding a little hurt and disappointed.

"A lot happened. Havoc's with Grace at the centre. I'll explain on the way."

Max began to explain what had gone down in the Dewford Gym, while they walked to the PC.

"All right, then Havoc! I'll register your friend. I'll dispatch the pokedex by post later today. It'll arrive in a few days.", said Birch, his image flickering a little on the video phone. Birch had said the word _friend_ with undertones that Havoc had not failed to notice. His eyes narrowed, and Birch gave him a wink. Havoc gave him a dirty look.

"Oh, all right. I won't pry. But the next time I see you, you'd better give me some sweet, sweet details!", continued Birch, laughing. Havoc had explained Grace's predicament to Birch and told him his idea. Birch had agreed to follow Havoc's suggestion.

As Birch blinked out, Havoc made his way over to where Grace stood.

"How'd it go?", she asked, hopeful.

"He agreed to it. The dex will arrive in a few days by post. Now that you're a registered trainer, Social Services can't take you in. Wherever you go, you'll have a place to stay at the PCs."

Grace exhaled, relieved. She'd been uncertain about this, but all her doubts had evaporated when Havoc's idea had worked out, with Professor Birch agreeing.

"Havoc, I don't know how to thank you-", she began.

Havoc cut her off.

"You can thank me by going on a journey and seeing the world with your pokemon."

She smiled. "Okay." Unable to contain her excitement any longer, she began to rattle out her plans, while Havoc listened. "I think I'll challenge the League; it's something I always wanted to do. Or maybe I could try my hand at contests? I guess I could do both? I'll have to catch some more pokemon.."

"You could come with us.", Havoc offered, not meeting her eyes. Was he a little red?

Grace grinned at Havoc's discomfort, then gave her answer.

"I don't think that'll be fair on you, Havoc. I'm going to start off with Rustboro, and then come here for the second badge. You shouldn't have to wait for me while I get the first two badges. I'll catch up with you, though, one day. I'll travel with you then!"

"Done.",Havoc replied, meeting her gaze this time.

"The _Crasher Wake_ will be leaving for Slateport in an hour. You might wanna get to the docks and book your tickets."

"All right."

"See you."

Neither of them moved. Then Grace rolled her eyes and came close. Havoc stiffened at the close proximity. She stood up on her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek. Just as she was about to lean back, Havoc moved his face, just a little. Their lips brushed for a brief moment. Grace's eyes widened. Havoc could see her flush as she stepped back.

"Havoc, I-"

"Sorry about that, I fidget when I get nervous."

Good grief, what had he done?

"No, no! It's not like that. I thought- Goodbye, Havoc.", Grace stammered, trying to string together a coherent sentence.

"See you later, alligator. And good luck with the gyms. Tell Roxanne I said hi!", Havoc bade her, a little red himself.

With that, Grace ran off, still embarrassed at and flustered about the sort-of-kiss, no matter however unintentional it might have been. _Or however brief!_ A small voice from the depths of her mind lamented as she left.

"Ooh la la, Havoc. Did I just see you have a _moment_ with Grace?", Vern called, as he, Dawn and Max came up to him. Vern turned to the others, and in a tone of mock confusion, asked them,

"Did you guys see that too, or did my eyes deceive me?"

"Oh, I saw it alright.", Dawn confirmed, grinning.

"I saw it too. Details, bro, details!", chirped Max.

"We're not talking about this.", Havoc replied, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh, we are talking about this.", Vern replied.

"Or we're going to make you.", added Max, trying to make himself sound as ominous as he could.

Dawn couldn't help but giggle when she heard Max's 'or else' voice.

The others joined in, laughing. Max was a little abashed at first, but then started laughing with them.

"Come on, we've got to go get tickets for the ferry leaving for Slateport. It leaves in an hour.", Havoc spoke at last, once they were done laughing.

In perfect harmony, our heroes ran out the door, heading for the docks.


End file.
